March 23 - COVID-19 Update

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March 23 - COVID-19 Update

The health, safety and wellbeing of our clients and staff is our highest priority and we want to take this opportunity to update you on Bedford’s response to COVID-19 and the extra precautions we are taking during this global pandemic. This is a fast-paced crisis that will have significant impact on Bedford’s operations.

At present, it’s important to note there are no known cases of COVID-19 at any of our Bedford sites.

We are carefully operating and assessing the continued operation of our services including– Employment, Day Options and Community Access and Lifestyle programs and Residential.

To ensure we are adhering to strict World Health and federal and state government health guidelines, we have already introduced toolbox and training sessions, increased hygiene and sanitation measures and are currently implementing social distancing (a 1.5 metre gap where possible between colleagues/ workers/ clients etc) across all Bedford sites.

We have also set up a special cross-functional taskforce to coordinate Bedford’s response, reducing the risk of transmission and to provide regular updates to all our clients, families and customers. This taskforce is headed by Aaron Brumby, Executive Manager, Commercial and will follow the latest advice from the World Health Organisation and federal and state government agencies.

The taskforce has already approved a number of actions including:

Increased hygiene and sanitation measures at all sites for all services

Following the federal government’s strict guidelines around social distancing and non-essential group gatherings to no more than 100 people, Bedford has made the decision to suspend some current social Community Access & Lifestyle (‘CAL’) programs.

Please be advised that effective immediately, including programs scheduled for Saturday 21 March 2020, all:

Social Saturday and

Club Slick and

Group Bowling activities

will be suspended until further notice.

We'll be keeping this page updated with the latest updates from Bedford. If you have any particular questions, please email our dedicated email address at covidhelp@bedfordgroup.com.au. We have also established two dedicated phone lines for COVID-19 queries; available during office hours, Monday to Friday:- 0429 135 448- 0429 124 648

We want to assure you we are doing everything we can to minimise the risk of COVID-19 at Bedford, however if you have pre-existing health conditions or feel your circumstances place you at high risk of complications or exposure, we encourage you to carefully consider your options to attend work or other services.

If you have any current health and related concerns, please contact the National Coronavirus Help Information Line on 1800 020 080 or contact your health practitioner.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this difficult time.